Monthly Archives: May 2008

Q: I have a parquet floor that is glued to a 3/4″ plywood underlayment. The parquet is sound, but showing wear, and I would like to replace it with an engineered floating product, like Kahrs Linnea. However, I’m don’t really want to try to remove the parquet, it is well glued down, and I think I would damage the underlayment by removing the parquet (not to mention all the work…)
Can I install an engineered wood floor over the parquet, using a foam pad?
Thanks for the help.
A: As long as the parquet you have in place is in good condition and solidly anchored you can install a floating floor over it. I would advise that you ensure you get a good underlayment. If you choose to go with a foam underlayment, get a higher quality, dense foam so that you limit the amount of spring in your floor. If its within your budget, I would suggest looking into 3mm cork as a good dense, but still cost savvy choice for this floor.
Before you install your floor, make sure that you go around and ensure that none of the parquet is loose or is cracking or breaking. Also, ensure the floor is level before installing the new floating floor.

Q: I was reading your answers and came upon something discussing problems with cabinets or heavy objects resting on a floating floor. IKEA’s cabinetry sits on top of the flooring rather than being inset or built around. In addition, of course, we have the expected refrigerator and stove. As these items are distributed around the kitchen, are we in-line for problems?
Thanks
Jon
A: Depending on how long this floor has been down and how long the cabinetry has been over it. With all floating floors it is not suggested to put very heavy furniture at the edges of a floating floor, regardless of how it is distributed.
This is especially problematic if the underlayment used for your floor is a foam type underlayment. Some floating floors can bear a bit more weight when installed over cork underlayment, but this weight should never be at the edge of the floor. A good example is a game room with a pool table in the center.
If these cabinets have only been in place for a short amount of time, it would be best to remove them, then remove some of the flooring, so that the cabinetry and appliances sit on subfloor (or a plywood platform to shim them up) then install flooring around the areas they take up. Even with cabinetry that is not built in, the weight of cabinets when filled will cause a floating floor to act like a teeter-totter, and usually within a short time you will see issues with gaps and buckling in the floor.

Flooring has a new name in Naperville with the recent iFLOOR store opening there. We have customer routinely surprised at the values they find at iFLOOR everyday. The total package of high quality product, installation professionals and high energy service minded iFLOOR folks to help out their local communities is what is winning in each area. Here are some photos from a recent visit to that store.

Q: My handyman told me that there is a new type of installation for hardwood floors – click – no glue, no nails and that the finish is strong and durable.
Is that true? Is that option now available for hardwood installation on a concrete base? If so, is that type installation limited to certain types of wood? Thanks.
A: Your handyman is correct, there have been quite a few innovations to hardwood flooring in the last couple of decades, one of which being click-together engineered hardwood floors. The selection of engineered lines featuring a click-together system is somewhat limited, but a couple of them are very well done, namely Kahrs and Saso. Kahrs Woodloc is one of the most well known click-together hardwood flooring systems in the world, and several of their collections are some of the best floors available. Saso has one of the most user friendly locking systems in the industry along with a very nice wear layer and cross-ply substrate, making their floors both easy to install and built to last.
As far as installing over concrete is concerned, this can be done with all of the floating hardwood floors which click-together, but keep in mind you still MUST have a moisture barrier as well as underlayment in order to do the job. Due to these floors being engineered you have no species limitations for installing over concrete, but make sure you are setting your own expectations properly. This means you should not expect a softer species (like American Walnut) to be super dent resistant.
One suggestion I do have is to ensure you get a good, dense underlayment under a floating hardwood floor. 6mm cork is the best bet as it removes virtually all of the “spring” out of floating floors, making them feel like traditional solid wood floors while also reducing a good portion of the noise. Cheaper underlayments will cause you to feel more movement in the floor under foot, although this is typically within tolerance, it can be a real hassle if you do not properly level out your subfloor.